Happy New Year

I hope you are enjoying you last day of 2010.

We are preparing for a party,

Just the 4 of us,

We have decorated the dinning room, have a special meal of steak planned, and are working on goals that we are setting for ourselves for the new year.

Our party planning is an idea I got from Kellie last year.

The girls had fun cutting up metallic tissue paper to make confetti. and a glitter ball to hang from the chandelier.

My next idea came from Kalleen, she made and decorated hats last year.

We cheated and bought dollar store party hats and decorated them.

This one is mine, I love my pipe cleaner feather.

Here is the one I made for Hubby, I tried not to make it too fancy.

My youngest made hers with braids and bangs, a little Pippi Lonstockings.

I just love the curlies that my oldest put on hers they are the perfect touch.

We strung Christmas garland from the chandelier.

Over all I think it is just great, it is amazing what a couple of dollars at the dollar store can do to transform a room into a New Years Eve party. 

We will eat our special dinner by candle light and the pile up in the floor and watch movies until 12. 

 I hope I can make it.

Happy New Years,

Looking Back

This time last year I was new at this whole blogging thing.

Struggling to find a way to document our lives, for the future.

My goal for this blog has always been to have a place to not forget what we have accomplished, where we have gone, and how we have grown.

So I thought I would take a moment today and look back over the last year.

I will start with getting to meet Bakerella and The Pioneer Woman all in one night,

Talk about a way to start off blogging.  My second post ever was about meeting these two.  It was a great night that I enjoyed with my sister (no we are not twins, but yes we are dressed alike).

When we decided to let our girls have separate rooms, I knew I had to make decor from what I had

Then I  added more layers to Little Sisters (my youngest daughter) bed.

My girls and I made a Valentine's banner to celebrate the true source of LOVE

Of all the crafts I have done this year, this wedding decoration I made for a sweet friend is still one of my favorites.

Who knew when I decorated this mantle,

that HGTV would be kind enough to write about it.

We had a great time making sweet bird decor for Little Sister's Birthday.

Our kitchen got a good bit of attention this year and is one of the first places in our home that is a reflection of us. The Spoon and Fork art is the perfect mix of whimsy and vintage that I was going for.

My rooster got a new modern look.

And just in case you have ever been confused about what you are suppose to do in the kitchen,

we hung a sign to make sure it was clear.

And I saved the best kitchen project for last,  the Family Recipe Wall

This chandelier has been a great addition to Big Sister's room remodel.

I even took the plunge into remodeling clothing with this shirt.  I hope to do more of this in the near future.

Big Sister had a wonderful 4th of July Birthday.

Then for Christmas I finally made new stockings and a book page wreath.

and my girls turned the kitchen into Candyland.

Thank you all for inviting me into the wonderful world of blogging.

I can't wait to see what the next year holds.

I am linking at Southern Hospitality

1st Annual Christmas Card Party Winner

The Winner of the

O SO CUTE BAG

from

Bag Full of Posies

is

Jane from Janie's Porch.

Congratulations Jane

email me jjones523@gmail.com

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a

 Merry Christmas

I look forward to getting caught up after the first of the year.

Yummy Peppermint Bark

Do you love peppermint bark?

We do, so last year I set out to make some and read hundreds of recipes from the very simple to very complex--making candy can be crazy hard if you are technical and stuff.

Lucky for us I can't be bothered with technical so I decided to just wing it.

You know what,

 it worked,

Not only is it Yummy but it is very easy and makes a great gift.

Here is what you will need:

Pan lined with foil

1 pound semi sweet chocolate

1 pound white chocolate

1 bag peppermint candy

cute dish

Line your pan with foil, told you it was easy.

Grab a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

(any chocolate chips left over from friends weddings will work great)

Pour Chocolate into your makeshift double boiler (glass bowl over boiling water in a pan).

melt and stir

melt and stir

when the chocolate is completely melted pour onto foil lined pan smooth out and place in freezer

unwrap peppermint candies and place in zip top bag

then have some fun crushing them

this part is a frustration reducer

Ahhh, I feel better already

Grab your white chocolate,

put it into your double broiler

stir and melt

stir and melt.

But here is the HARD part

WAIT

YOU MUST WAIT!!!

See if you pour the melted white chocolate onto the frozen dark chocolate then you will have a big mess, because the white chocolate will melt the dark chocolate and they will mix together and lets just say it is not pretty

So find your patience and wait at least 10 minutes.

Once the white chocolate is cool to the touch pour it onto the dark chocolate and smooth,

immediately add the crushed peppermint candies.

Stick it back into the freezer for 30 minutes

remove from the freeze

remove from the pan and cut into pieces

Place into cute dish and there you have it Yummy peppermint bark.



Hope you enjoy,